More footwork! (cosmetic research)

Definitely a bigger job than it should be! Finding safe, non-toxic products that have not been tested on animals, are made in the U.S., can be bought locally, and are affordable is downright enough to make me drink large quantities of wine from a completely different country!

So the scoop, continued:

At Sunny Farms supplement store (their extension in Sequim), I found a lot more options for hair and skin care, including sunscreens, baby care, and essential oils. After copious minutes on the internet researching chemicals until my eyes crossed (why, oh why can't they call "beeswax" by it's name instead of calling it "cyclopentasiloxane"?), I have narrowed the search down and have printed out the product guides for these companies: Giovanni hair products (17 of 40 listed products are labeled low hazard), Burt's Bees (yes, I had to do it...I love their stuff and I will continue to use some after looking into each specific ingredient and making an educated decision over what I'm willing to accept and what I'm not...a good 1/3 of their products are low hazard and very few are considered high hazard), Aubrey Organics, and Kiss My Face.

Some generalizations? Facial moisturizers seem to be the deal-breaker in buying a whole skin care system. While the toners and cleansers often rate "low", the moisturizers are often "moderate" to "high"? Why? Well, I found one particular ingredient (it's the reason I had to pass on Humphrey's skin care line): "aluminum starch octenyl succinate". The concern with this ingredient is the presence of heavy metals. It's been approved for use in cosmetics by the FDA, but some studies have labeled it a neurotoxin and show concerns that it may cause trouble with reproductive organs. Hmm... Not knowing much about chemicals in general, I'm just not going to chance it, if possible. I think this issue of "aluminum" is the same one that pops up in the antiperspirant conversation. Also, fragrances tend to be a big killer of the low rating. For example, Burt's Baby Shampoo & Wash with fragrance gets a rating of 4, but without fragrance gets a 2. Sheesh! Stupid perfumes! And the most frustrating thing about that is that sometimes it's the smell that makes me want to use it in the first place!

Alright, next topic...Sunscreens! I had to throw out a few in our medicine cabinet...namely the Banana Boat Kids and Baby. GRRRR....you'd think this stuff would be safe!

Good Sunscreens that can be found at Sunny Farms Supplements? Badger Sunblock (unscented 30 or lightly scented 30), Jason Mineral 30+ or Chemical Free Sunblock, Alba Mineral SPF 30, Alba Mineral Kids.

Available sunscreens with higher (moderate) risk ratings? Burt's Bees Chemical Free SPF 30, Alba Botanica Very Emollient (Kids, Family, etc.), Aubrey Organics.

The biggest problem I'm encountering is that most companies have SOME products that rate low, but not ALL. So, I really have to check up on it. I decided that rather than driving back and forth, I'd just print out the ingredient rating lists and then make my decisions at the store.

I've done lots of searching on the companies' websites as well, to make sure that the products portend to do what I'm looking for. For example, I went to Aubrey's site but found out that the most likely skin care system for me was not one of the "low risk" choices. So, I'm probably going to try their sensitive skin line and see how that goes.

My suggestion, to make your research go faster? Go to your local store of choice, write down the available brands with a variety of product offerings. Then, get on Skin Deep's database and search the product name. Print the entire listing for that brand name. Then bring that list back to the store to make your choices or to order the products you would like to try most. If you have a favorite product that rates higher than you'd like, look at all the ingredients in the study and why the ingredients have been given a particular rating and make your own educated opinion.

To complicate matters, to make sure that the products are "cruelty free" as well, check PETA's printable lists. Tons of companies are on the "Don't Test List"...only a select few remain on the "Do Test" list, but they are BIG ONES who make hundreds of products!

Happy Hunting! It took me 3 days and several hours to narrow it down to 4 companies and a sunscreen. But, in the grand scheme of things, I guess it's worth it.